Last Monday, KJ (Chef’s protege) told us she wanted to prepare dinner the following week. All by herself. Not one to pass up a week to relax, Chef took her up on it. KJ had the meal planned out from her Rachael Ray 365 : No Repeats cookbook. KJ, her mom, and Chef worked together to make sure she had all the ingredients she needed, and this Monday, we turned the kitchen over to her.

It was really nice to just sit and relax. Chef played chess with DJ (amazingly, DJ almost beat him, but it ended in a stalemate which depressed DJ for the rest of the night). DJ also learned what a concubine is. Yeah, that wasn’t on purpose. I was sitting in the living room, smelling KJ’s wonderful creation, and reading my book. DJ asked me the title, so I told him: The Concubine’s Daughter. And the conversation went from there. Every day is educational at our house!

The fire was going and it was cozy and warm in the living room. (A little too warm for me, but Gina loved sitting next to the stove.)

When it was ready, KJ brought us each a cup of chai, then told us dinner was ready. YUM.

The salsa soup really was like eating a bowl of warm salsa. Might sound strange, and it was rather rich, but it was goooooood.

She made some rice, too, in case people thought the soup was too… soupy. (Maybe she had a little Charu in her head, telling her that “it should not be liquidy” in his Indian accent.)

And mmmmmm, the quesadillas. Double decker. Wonderful, especially dipped into the soup.

Dinner was a hit, and I’ve already told KJ that she needs to be prepared to cook on Mondays in late February and early March when Chef plans to be out of state for three weeks. I mean, that’s what a protege is for, right?

Mmmmm.Mmmmmm.Mmmmmm
Actually I just had a bowl of delicious leftovers soup that Aunt Sandy made. She enjoys doing a lot of the cooking out here. I think she’s a real ‘koch’, not just by marriage. I do the dishes.
‘concubine’ Hmmmmmm
The book S and I are into, about old Chinese traditions, uses that word often.
Fascinating novel by Lisa See: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
Have you read it?